Cap City

In several stump speeches leading up to the Nov. 2 election, President Obama jokingly portrayed Republicans as obstructionists who would rather sip Slurpees than help the nation move forward, and it didn’t take long for convenience store chain 7-Eleven, which sells the sweet, icy Slurpee drink, to seize the opportunity. On Nov. 8, a special […]

For all its great history, Springfield’s past does include some dark events we all wish hadn’t happened; the infamous 1908 race riots and the more recent “noose incidents” at CWLP come immediately to mind. Now, the Springfield-based Coalition to Promote Human Dignity and Diversity (CPHDD) is planning a public forum on dealing with that type […]

As the wind pushed, Illuminati Motor Works solved Tom Weis’s problems with a 100-mile pull. Tom Weis last week stopped in Springfield with his electric assist “Rocket Trike” on his Ride for Renewables, a public education tour promoting a 100 percent renewable energy grid by 2020 [See “Rocket trike stops in Springfield,” Oct. 28 at […]

Aaric Kendall is a regular renaissance man. His normal job is running a backhoe, but his passion is carving ice into beautiful sculptures. That passion earned the 31-year-old Argenta resident two medals at two different Cultural Olympiad events. He won a gold medal in a 12-hour endurance carve competition held in conjunction with the 2010 […]

Carolyn Oxtoby has spent more than 30 years restoring and preserving historic buildings in Springfield, from the famous Lincoln-Herndon Law Office to the former Masonic Temple she helped turn into the Hoogland Center for the Arts. She worked to save and restore Springfield’s Elijah Iles House and even started the local nonprofit Heritage Foundation, which […]

Not only is it green but it’s easy on the eyes. That’s what state officials are saying about a new geothermal temperature control system planned for Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site in Oak Ridge Cemetery. Contractors are expected to begin installation later this month. By next spring, the system’s 300-foot deep pipes, filled with antifreeze […]

Nary a soul can look back at their days of youth without at least a little embarrassment. Those of us who sported the grade-school bowl cut hairdo (with optional rattail) know humiliation as well as those who donned tight-rolled jeans as teens in the 1980s. Every generation has its own styles, quirks and idiosyncrasies that […]

Give Angela Troppa a sheet of paper and she’ll change the culture of a classroom. It’s this power of creativity that this year earned Troppa, a counselor at Fairview Elementary School, the Lions Clubs International’s first Lions Quest Educator Award. Lions Quest is an educational program developed by Lions Clubs International that teaches skills for […]

Court and Karen Conn of Springfield know business. They own and operate the Inn at 835, Conn’s Catering, and La Vita Grand Day Spa, and they may soon have a fourth business to run. The Conns are seeking permits to turn the Obed and Isaac House, formerly known as the Maisenbacher House, into a restaurant […]